
Issue No 24		30 July 1999

Letters to the Editor

Snag’s Filmsy Evidence

Kapital K

Dear Komrade,

Mr Kleaver is being uneccesarily obskure in his khoice of union, or union bustin' fliks by not choosing titles with the word 'union' in them. What about 'Union Sity Blues', 'Part of the Union' and simply 'Union'? In one of the strangest koincidenses around, 'Salt of the Earth' was on the telly last Saturday, at the same time as 'Kommonwealth Bank Kup', 'Total Sport', 'Volleyball' and 'The Netball Show'. I wonder if anyone saw it?

Yrs,

Jusso

p.s has there ever been any amount of selluloid given over to movies about student unions? I'm thinking of something along the lines of a real time dokumentary on the 1992 Sydney Uni Union Band Kompetition. That would be worth watshing...again!

Chicks Wear Blue Too!

Come on Snag - Women look good in blue singlets too... Since I don't get to go to Swans games, how about:

NORMA RAE - Sally Field's fiesty blue collar union organiser still brings a lump to the throat just thinking about how she beat apathy and fear (on the part of the workers) and hostility and harrassment from management to declare her factory a unionised one. Martin Ritt directed.

SILKWOOD - OK it's Meryl, but it is a great story, well told. Based on the story of Karen Silkwood, American nuclear reactor process worker, who took her safety concerns so far she "died in a mysterious accident" ie was run off the road, conspiracy theories abounding. I have a feeling Nora Ephron was involved in the script. Directed by Mike Nichols.

LA SALMANDRE - A more obscure film (1971?) by Swiss director Alain Tanner, starring French actress Bulle Ogier as a young woman being investigated by two journalists after she shot her uncle and guardian. As they get to know her, the journalists apply some Marxist theory to her life as a tool of capitalism - some amusing moments as she processes sausages in a factory and complies with the seductive sycophancy expected of her when selling shoes. Tanner never lets theory get in the way of the workers' reality. An extension of Bulle's character appears in another of his films, Jonah who will be 25 in the year 2000: a supermarket check out operator played by Miou Miou, also French.

Obviously I enjoy Workers' Online! Keep up the great work,

Elizabeth

Labourstart Lists 'Em

Have a look at the list at http://www.labourstart.org/videos.shtml

Linda Gale

View entire issue - print all of the articles!

Issue 24 contents

Interview: The Man in the Hot Seat
WorkCover general manger John Grayson cut his teeth in the trade union movement. Now he’s trying to save the state’s workers compensation scheme.

Unions: Turning Up The Heat: Bush Fire Officers Seek Award Justice
"We want an award for the job that we do, not the job other people want us to do". Donald Bushby, and his fellow Fire Control Officers, know what they want. It's simple: an award for FCO's and deputy FCO's, an award that recognises who they are, the job they do, the pressures they have to live with.

International: The Virtual Labour Congress
International trade unions are launching an online debate on Labour in the 21th century.

Legal: The Source of the Issue
Recent legal developments place the spotlight on the outsourcing of government activities.

Review: The Split that Changed a Nation
A new book looks at the Cold War ALP split that redefined politics in this country.

Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre
Read the latest issue of Labour Review, Labor Council's resource for unionists.

Satire: Man Takes Home Pay - More Pokies Needed
The NSW government has expressed concern following the release of a second report by the Productivity Commission which shows that a majority of employed people still spend their pay on luxury items such as food and clothing for their family.

» Sixty Cents A Week to Protect Entitlements

» Workers Comp — The Rorts Have to Stop

» Steggles Roasted Over Family-Busting Policies

» Youth Worker Death Prompts Safety Fears

» Rail Security Guards Miss Danger Spots

» New South Coast Labor Body Seeks Recognition

» Howard Ministers, Employment Advocate in the Dock

» Management Vandals Take to Sydney Water

» Boston Fiddles While Teachers Burn

» Lundy to Star in Workers Online Net Night

» STOP PRESS - Firefighters Seek End To Safety Apartheid